New Troubles
by but-can-you-fly
Summary: Her uncle was paralysed, apparently by fear, by the deadly Flightmare. But Astrid redeemed her family name, officially becoming Fearless Astrid Hofferson. She thought her troubles were over, but how fearless can she be when her brother goes missing? She's already lost one family member. She's not about to let it happen again. (Takes place after "After the Flightmare")
1. New Troubles

**A/N: Here's an update! I've got a story fleshed out this time, so there will be more chapters to come. There's not much cutesy hiccstrid stuff in this chapter but the story needs an exposition. There will be more fluffy later, never you fear.**

"Come on, Hiccup, just one more!"

Astrid's voice was grating to Hiccup's ear as he attempted to squeeze out one more push-up.

"Keep going!"

He injected the last dregs of strength he had left into his arms…which gave out, leaving him with a mouthful of dirt. It occurred to him his shirt would be particularly dirty now, with all the sweet drenched into it, but he was too exhausted for the thought to trigger a response in his brain.

"Come on, Hiccup, we don't quit! Just one more!"

That's what you said every other push-up, Hiccup thought bitterly. He couldn't tell which was worse at the moment: the sun beating down on him, or Astrid.

The latter eyed Hiccup's lack of response. "I guess we're done for the day, then," she remarked, plopping herself down next to his prone body.

Hiccup's back continued to rise and fall steadily as he drank in the warm afternoon's air. Warm for Berk, anyway. "How…did…I…do…this time?" He managed between breaths.

"You did 11. A few less than the goal we set, but it's not bad," Astrid answered shortly.

Hiccup grunted. He distinctly remembered telling her last week that he wouldn't be able to jump from 9 to 15 in one week. Nevertheless, she insisted, saying that, "you achieve high by aiming high."

Astrid's brow furrowed slightly, before she tugged a strained smile onto her face. She rubbed Hiccup on the back. "Don't worry, I didn't expect you to actually get to 15."

Hiccup frowned at her. "Then why set the bar there?"

"To make you work."

"I'm choosing to do this, of course I'm gonna work."

Astrid's smile faded a little. "Hiccup, this will get you results."

Hiccup opened his mouth to respond, but Astrid cut him off. "Why don't we grab a drink to cool off and you can show me more clever-boy stuff?" she said, grinning brightly at him.

Hiccup's expression softened. "Sounds good." He tried to push himself off the ground, before his arms reminded him how much he had taxed them that day. "So, Astrid, wanna pull me up?" he wheedled.

She sighed and shook her head, but acquiesced with a smile all the same.

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The candle on Hiccup's wooden desk in the forge was burning low now. Its light brushed the room with a soft, warm glow. The sun had long since set, and Astrid's frustrated growls echoed late into the night. Hiccup place his hands gently on her shoulders. "Hey, it's ok," he said gently, "we can take a break and keep going later. There's no rush."

Astrid said nothing. She glared hotly at the dried-up flower in front of her as she drew again.

If sheer willpower could print pictures…Hiccup shook his head. Not this time, he mused dryly. She would have to learn to take it slow.

"Gaah!" Astrid slammed her fist on the table, shaking everything on it.

Hiccup inspected her latest attempt. "Hey, Astrid, not bad. You've got the proportions down pretty good now," Hiccup said, smiling encouragingly at her.

"Please don't patronise me, I know it's garbage."

"No, really, you're improving pretty quickly, if I do say so myself."

"Just tell me what is wrong with it."

Hiccup eyed her warily. "It's just the lines, they're all too thick. If you just loosen your grip on the pencil – "

"Like this?" Astrid dropped the pencil on the desk.

"Astrid – "

She abruptly stood up. "Never mind, you're probably right," she said with a yawn, "we can do more later." She strode out of the forge, leaving Hiccup to fume, head in hands, in the light of the dying candle.

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The crisp morning air whipped past Hiccup's face as he lay on Toothless' back. It wasn't even close to midday yet, so Hiccup contented himself with gazing aimlessly at the gentle blue sky above. Though it was still relatively early, he could feel the unfettered warmth of the sun shining on the side of his face. The flight this morning hadn't been as adventurous as usual. For once Hiccup wanted to take a slow start to the day. Toothless, of course, took note of this difference. Up until now he had swallowed his curiosity and appeased Hiccup, hoping that whatever mood had passed over Hiccup would go away soon. But it had been too long now. It was high time Toothless caught wind of what was going on, so he turned his head and crooned a question.

"So you noticed, huh?" Hiccup said.

Toothless snorted derisively.

"Yeah, I didn't exactly hide it, did I?" Hiccup let silence leak back into their vicinity.

The night fury waited several moments for a response. When none was forthcoming, he grunted at Hiccup, who sighed.

"I don't know, bud."

Toothless groaned.

"Yeah, of course it's about Astrid," he chuckled wryly. "Training with her has been…difficult. And then when it's my turn to teach her, she gets so frustrated I don't know how to talk to her," Hiccup said, gesturing to the heavens above.

The dragon crooned, turning his head to eye Hiccup sympathetically.

"Yeah, I've said stuff to her, but she doesn't seem to hear me. Well she hears me, but she doesn't quite understand what I say. It's like she's got this one track mind that just…" Hiccup jabbed a hand into the sky and made a whooshing sound. He let the hand fall onto his stomach. He sighed. "Y'know, bud…"

Toothless perked his ears.

"…there might be something else going on. I mean, she expects a lot from herself and the people around her, but something about this just doesn't feel…right. Training started okay, but now she's just so wound up, even for her."

Another croon.

"Yeah, I'll just ask an angry and irate Astrid what her problem is, that'll go wonderfully," Hiccup drolled. He slowly pulled himself upright in his saddle; his eyes focused with purpose. "Alright, bud, let's go find her."

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Twigs and leaves crunched under her boot as she strode haughtily through the woods. The smell of bark and nature pervaded the air, and the high noon sun cast her hair in a brilliant light speckled by the trees above. Her cheeks were flushed crimson, but not entirely from the sweat-inducing hike in the midday sun. Her teeth were clenched and her shoulders heaved. Her hand gripped her axe like a vice. Now normally she'd throw her axe until she felt better. Normally she'd rip and splinter the innocent bark, expelling her frustration until her mind was clear again. But today was different. She had tried her usual venting, and it worked temporarily, but the effect faded. Quickly. There was a knot in her stomach that she couldn't unwring no matter how hard she worked. She was a warrior, a Viking. She never liked to show it, but she was worried. And now it was worse than that, because her tensions was leaking out when she trained Hiccup or practiced her drawing with him. Compounding on that was a gnawing frustration at herself; because she was incapable of controlling her outbursts, and Hiccup least of all deserved to be on the receiving end of her emotions.

Astrid heard a squawk from behind her. She turned around just in time to see Stormfly alight before her. The dragon nuzzled her, squawking reproachfully.

Astrid laughed softly, rubbing Stormfly's snout. "Sorry we didn't go for our morning flight, girl. I…I just wanted to be alone for a little while."

Stormfly squawked again, turning her head to eye her rider with concern.

"Yeah, I'm alright, I guess. Maybe…ok, not really," Astrid sighed. A few moments passed and then, "but I'm glad you're here, Stormfly." She smiled at her dragon, who nuzzled her again. Astrid hugged Stormfly tightly. The knot in her stomach loosened a little, and her breathing began to level out. She shook her head. "It's just the not knowing, Stormfly…it's starting to get to me. I think it's time I – "

Suddenly she heard a whistle. The whistle of a Night Fury slicing through the air.

"No, no, no, not now," Astrid muttered. She slammed on a mask of cheery nonchalance. She heard Toothless' paws lightly pad onto the ground as he landed. And then she heard the squeak of Hiccup's prosthetic leg as it hit the ground.

Astrid turned to face him.

"Hello, Hiccup," she said.

"Hello, Astrid," Hiccup said, raising an eyebrow.

"What brings you out here?"

"Oh, this and that. Just wanted to see how you were doing," Hiccup said, shrugging.

"I'm fine," Astrid replied shortly, still smiling.

"Really…"

"Yeah, of course."

Hiccup scratched his head. "Uh huh, well, if you ever want to share what's going on, I'm here," he said. He moved to mount Toothless, but the dragon huffed and shrugged him off, nudging him back towards Astrid.

She narrowed her eyes. What was going on?

Hiccup inhaled and exhaled deeply, and squared his shoulders. "Astrid, it's…it's okay to…" He gestured with his hands.

Astrid raised an eyebrow. "To…?" she trailed.

Hiccup sighed, pinching his brow. "I know something's bothering you. You've been acting out in our lessons, you're avoiding every issue I bring up with your training sessions. You're not normally like this. What's happening?" Hiccup wasn't frowning, but he looked stern. Less like the gentle Hiccup she was used to.

"Nothing is – "

"Astrid," Hiccup growled.

Several moments passed.

Astrid's mask fell, her fear now plain on her face for Hiccup to see. And then her anger followed, attempting to burn the fear from her heart. It was too much for her. She flung her axe at a defenceless tree next to Hiccup, who yelped.

"Whoa, Astrid..." Hiccup said, raising his hands to her and crouched a little.

Astrid sighed. "I'm not a dragon, Hiccup, you don't have to do the hand thing."

"I wasn't, uh… " he trailed awkwardly.

"It's my little brother."

Hiccup remained silent, looking at her with concern.

"He, uh, he…" Astrid sighed.

"It's ok, take your time," Hiccup said gently.

She took a steadying breath. "My brother, he was on that fishing boat."

"Ahh…the one that went out a couple weeks back?"

"Yeah. One week wouldn't be so bad, but he should be back by now. I think they ran into that storm, the massive one that passed by Berk. I was actually going to go looking for his boat today."

"Why didn't you tell me, or any of the others? You know all of us would be glad to help."

"I was going to eventually, I suppose," Astrid shrugged.

Hiccup gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "I reckon we should get the dragon academy in on this one. We can cover a lot more ground if we work together."

Astrid returned his smile. "Yeah, you're right."

Hiccup moved to mount Toothless.

"And, Hiccup?"

"Yeah?"

"Sorry for…for being difficult in our training and lessons," Astrid said, rubbing her upper arms.

"It's ok, Astrid. Just be sure to tell me next time, ok? They say a problem shared is a problem halved, after all," Hiccup chuckled.

Astrid smiled at him. "Yeah, I'll try."


	2. The Storm

**Okay, took longer than I thought, but here's the next chapter. Trust me, there will be fluff, but when it makes sense for the plot. I'm not gonna do it gratuitously.**

The sun cast its burning gaze on the necks of the teens. Its heat was tempered by the whistling winds at their dragons' flight altitude. Below them the cerulean sea sparkled and twinkled at them, coolly reflecting the sun's light in the azure sky that stretched endlessly above them. The six dragon riders had been flying for most of the day now and all suffered from mild cases of weather-beaten faces, chapped lips, and sunburn. According to the calculations Hiccup had made before they left Berk, there had been a wild storm that had ravaged these waters below them several days ago; the same storm into which Astrid suspected her brother's fishing boat had run afoul. However, there were no dark clouds in the sky. Hiccup frowned. He would have at least expected a few stray blobs of angry fluff to be floating around after inclement weather. Nevertheless, he wanted to make sure they swept the area, just in case of any floating wreckage, debris, or survivors. He couldn't see anything from their current altitude, but it was still worth a look. For Astrid's sake, if nothing else.

"Alright, guys, let's hold it here for a bit," Hiccup called above the wind, urging Toothless to halt, "and we should – "

"Arrrghhg, at last! I need a nap," Tuffnut exclaimed.

"Amen, brother," Ruffnut chimed.

Hiccup glared at them. "Guys, come on! This is important!"

"Hiccup, I'm not questioning the importance of this by any means, but we can't keep going forever. We and our dragons all need to rest at some point," Fishlegs said.

Hiccup glanced at Meatlug. Her tongue flopped lazily out of her mouth and she hovered erratically, wavering up and down. Fishlegs might have a point.

"So let me get this straight; we come all this way based on YOUR calculations," Snotlout said, jabbing an accusatory finger at Hiccup, "and we find nothing."

"You saying you could've done better?" Hiccup replied coolly.

"Guys! Can we stop fighting? This is really important!" Fishlegs yelled.

At that, nobody spoke. Instead, wordless gazes found their way to Astrid and Stormfly.

Whilst she scratched her dragon's neck lovingly and whispered soft words of encouragement to her, Astrid's expression was stony, and one hand gripped her saddle with white-knuckled tightness. She wanted to explode. She wanted to just yell her frustrations out to the heavens and rip everything to shreds, but that wouldn't solve anything. She had to keep her mind in the game and her exhausted dragon in the air. As such, she staunchly ignored the five concerned gazes directed her way. They weren't helping squat. In a way it was lucky that she ignored them, because she was the first of them to spot the ominous blotch of grey now obscuring the horizon ahead of them. She pointed at it. "Storm." Her first word to them that trip.

Everyone looked. Hiccup pulled out his spyglass, frowning. "Huh…it looks like a bad one…"

"Where is it headed?" Astrid asked.

After a few moments, Hiccup said, "I think it's… It's coming towards us."

"How bad is it?" Fishlegs asked with worry etched on his face.

Hiccup squinted into the spyglass for a few moments more. He lowered it and turned to Fishlegs. "Ahh, well, think 'unholy offspring of lightning and death itself', but just the 'unholy' 'lightning' and 'death' bits," Hiccup said with ironic cheer.

Toothless gave his draconic equivalent of laughter.

"Argh, great. We should turn back. We can't killed for all this," Snotlout said.

"No," said Astrid.

Snotlout, thoroughly conflicted, looked between Astrid and the storm that was fast approaching, swallowing the sky at an alarming rate, like a malevolent flood. He seemed to make a decision, and his face set with determination.

"Are there any islands near here?" he asked. "We need to get to cover, like, right now. If I were that fishing boat, that's what I'd be doing in a storm."

Astrid opened her mouth to retort, but Hiccup cut her off.

"Y'know, that's actually a good idea Snotlout. They've likely run themselves aground, so that's our best bet of finding clues to track them down."

"Yes! Did you hear that? I am the MAN!" Snotlout crowed, flexing his biceps.

Astrid sighed. She supposed he did earn that one.

"Fishlegs, what islands do we have around here?" Hiccup asked.

"Gimme a second," Fishlegs replied. He pulled a map out of a pouch on his belt, struggling to keep it flat in the ever-growing winds. "Uh…hmm," he muttered.

"What is it, Fish?" asked Astrid.

"There are three islands near here," he replied, "they're possibly a bit far for a boat depending on how much time they had, but it's worth a look."

The menacing grey was almost on them now, snarling with angry thunder and whipping the sea below it into a frenzy.

"Where are the islands?" Astrid shouted to Fishlegs above the wind.

"Well, the closest one is that way," he yelled back, pointing somewhat south and towards the storm, "then there's one there," pointing more East, "and one up there," pointing northeast.

Hiccup cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted to the group, "Alright, guys, we gotta get moving! Fishlegs, Snotlout, take the southern island –"

"Uh uh, no way, Hiccup! It's right next to that storm, and I am not messing with a storm again!" Snotlout protested, gesturing emphatically.

"Besides, you're not really gonna make me go with him are you?" Fishlegs called, nodding his head at Snotlout.

"Just do what I said! It's the closest one from here!" Hiccup yelled back. "Now, Ruff, Tuff, you guys take the northern island!"

"Youuuuu got it, chief!" Ruffnut answered.

"Ace rescue team, here we go!" Tuffnut crowed.

Astrid looked at Hiccup askance. "Are you sure we can just let them go alone?!"

"Ah, well…I'm sure they're smarter than they look. We'd better get to our island!"

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"Yo, Fishface, is that it?" Snotlout called, pointing at the sorry patch of land ahead. It was naught but a flat, sandy beach with trees bending in the dangerous wind.

"I think so!" Fishlegs called back. There was light rain now too, riding the winds and whipping their faces with gentle stings. The far side of the island was obscured by the trees, but most of it was visible. There was no trace of any kind of boat.

"I can't see a boat! We should find cover, that storm is literally here now!" Snotlout yelled. They could see sparks of lighting stabbing the sea not too far off from the island, and the rain grew steadily more forceful.

Fishlegs quaked in his saddle, but countered, "We have to at least have a look! Astrid deserves that!"

"You're crazy!" yelled Snotlout, yet complying nonetheless. But neither dragon rider had high hopes, and their cursory search yielded nothing but empty land.

"See, I told you! Now let's get some shelter before we're blown out of the air!" shouted Snotlout. The rain was now a vicious torrent lashing at them on the whistling winds. Lightning sparked erratically on the island and the sea around them as they landed on the beach.

"What shelter?!" yelled Fishlegs, gesturing to the trees. At that moment lightning struck one, casting it ablaze despite the swirling torrent.

Snotlout swore. "What do we do?!"

"I remember Hiccup telling me about how lighting is attracted to things that are tall or are made of metal, or both!"

"Then let's get down!" Snotlout dived face-first off Hookfang. He lay prone on the sandy beach with his hands over his head and his dragon lying protectively over him. "Thanks, Fangster."

Fishlegs promptly followed suit, with Meatlug whumping on top of him. "I love you too, girl!" Fishlegs wheezed.

The two dragon riders lay huddled beneath their dragons as the voracious storm mercilessly ravaged the island around them, sweeping swathes of rain through the air with winds strong enough to break some trees in half. Those that didn't break were stabbed ruthlessly by bolts of lighting that set them on fire, casting a brief light in the darkness.

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The ravenous storm was closer to Hiccup and Astrid than anticipated by the time they reached their island North of Snotlout and Fishlegs. By Hiccup's estimation it must've reached those two already. Worry squirmed in his stomach.

"Hey, Astrid! We should find shelter! That storm has probably reached Fishlegs and Snotlout, and we're next!" Hiccup shouted.

His plea fell on deaf ears. The only thing Astrid could hear was the anxious pounding of her pulse as she yelled her defiance. "Not this time, Hiccup! I'm finding my brother!"

"You'll be in no position to help your brother if you get lost or hurt!" Hiccup rebutted emphatically.

Storm winds were already sweeping through, buffeting the dragons in the air and hailed the maelstrom to come.

But Astrid couldn't bring herself to ignore the fear burning through her heart. "I didn't call her Stormfly for nothing! Let's go see what we can find, girl!"

The island was relatively large. It was a plateau that jutted out of the turbulent ocean, and a rough forest blanketed its top. Jagged cliffs marked the coastline, with treacherous rocky outcrops dotting the waters around the island.

Stormfly made a harrowing beeline for the outcrops amidst the raging waters and turbulent winds.

Toothless gave chase. At Hiccup's behest, he shot after Stormfly like a bullet from a gun, his wings slicing through the harsh winds. Normally he admired Stormfly for her manoeuvrability, but right now he resented it as the burning muscles in his wings and tail screamed for a release from the aerial acrobatics at breakneck speeds. Rocks seemed to appear out of nowhere, and it felt like the oncoming storm was trying to smash him into them with malevolent force. Every turn he risked slipping off his trajectory, or being swallowed up by the waves trying to eat him. Navigating all this was a challenge, even for the unparalleled prowess of the only known Night Fury alive. He was gaining on Stormfly, but all too slowly. He growled in combined fatigue and frustration.

"Almost there, bud, just hang in there!"

His best friend's encouragement steeled his nerve and his eyes narrowed to slits. Toothless would reach his dragon friend and her rider before they dashed themselves on these rocks. He had to.

Stormfly was also barely negotiating the outcrops in the winds. She screeched to her rider; this is insane, and my wings are about to fall off! We need to land somewhere!

"Come on, girl, please. We gotta find something!"

Stormfly initially had confidence. Much like her rider, she loved to push her limits. However she did acknowledge that there were some things even she couldn't overcome for long.

Which was why she was even relieved when Toothless swooped by and snatched Astrid from her saddle.

Astrid panicked. And she screamed. "Hiccup! Put me down right now! Put me back on Stormfly!" She gripped Toothless' front paws like a vice, refusing to look down at the tumultuous waves below. Instead she fixed a glare on Hiccup as icy as the rain that was beginning to reach them.

"Put me back on Stormfly! Thor damn it, Hiccup!"

Hiccup and Toothless carried her higher and higher above the waves and the rocky outcrops, flying adjacent to the cliffside with Stormfly close behind.

"Hold on, bud! Over there!" Hiccup pointed to a jagged opening in the cliffside.

Worth a shot, Toothless snorted. He'd take a nice, dark cave over a wet, tangled forest any day. He angled himself towards the opening, forcing his wings and tail to push him through the wind and rain. The last stretch, he thought. Just a little more. He grimaced with pain.

"That's it, Toothless, you can do it! 'Atta boy!"

He didn't so much land in the cave as he did collapse, dropping the girl before he made his own uncharacteristically ungraceful landing.

"Stormfly!" Astrid was already up and running to the cave's entrance. Her dragon was struggling to alight, but stray winds had caught her wings and she teetered on the edge of being blown away. Cold fury bled through Astrid's limbs. She was tired of the world doing whatever it wanted to those she loved. "Hiccup, help!" She was glad it was raining. It hid her tears. The two dragon riders disentangled themselves from Toothless and rushed to Stormfly, who was flapping desperately and screeching in panic.

Hiccup held up a hand to Stormfly. "Easy, girl, easy. We're gonna get you in here," he said soothingly as Astrid grabbed one of Stormfly's head spikes.

"It's not working, just grab her!" Astrid sniped.

Hiccup complied, grabbing a spike on the other side of Stormfly's head. With a great deal of grunting and heaving, the two Vikings were enough to tip the balance into Stormfly's favour, and she frantically flapped herself inside the cave. The dragon collapsed atop the teens, utterly exhausted, but glad to be out of the storm.

By now the said storm was well and truly on them. The waves battered the cliffs, the thunder roared, and the wind howled, thrashing rain about at gale force speeds.

Astrid crawled sluggishly out from under Stormfly. She almost got Stormfly killed, not to mention Hiccup and Toothless. Despair washed over her, and she cradled her dragon's head, crying. "I'm so sorry, Stormfly." She heard Hiccup struggling out from underneath Stormfly beside her. Toothless padded up behind her, crooning at her distress. Astrid didn't know what to do. It looked like there wasn't anything she could do to save her brother, and it infuriated her more than anything. She was Fearless Astrid Hofferson, she thought she was better than this. Astrid felt Hiccup place a gentle hand on her back.

"I'm sorry," she sniffled.

"What for?" he replied.

"For being reckless."

"It's ok, I mean, I would have done the same thing, I'm sure…" He frowned. "In fact, I did do the same thing. But hey, at least I got a cool new leg out of that one, right?"

Despite her mood, Astrid felt a small smile tug at the corners of her mouth. Then she punched him in the arm. "This is serious, Hiccup." But she still wore a faint smile beneath her tears.

"I know." Hiccup moved to put his arm around her shoulders. Ordinarily he wouldn't dare do something so bold, but this situation wasn't ordinary. Astrid never showed weakness, and he felt had to do something. Nevertheless, he was still unsure. It wasn't until Astrid rested her head on his shoulder did he start to think he did the right thing. "We'll move out as soon as the storm is light enough. And who knows, the twins may have found something."

Astrid snorted. "That'll be the day."

Hiccup rubbed her arm.

Astrid snuggled closer to him.

Toothless and Stormfly moved to curl themselves around the teens.

The dragons and riders huddled together in that dark cave away from the blistering storm, finding comfort and warmth in each other's presence. It might take a bit of time, but Astrid would do whatever it would take to find her brother and bring him home safe. She only hoped she wouldn't be too late.


	3. Driftwood

**Hello again! Sorry for the gap since the last update. Life got busy and stuff happened; but we're sorted now, and I've already started writing the next chapter!**

The two men stopped rowing, letting their hands fall to their laps as they heaved for air. The ends of their paddles dipped out of the water and floated sullenly on the gentle waves. 'Paddles' is actually too strong a word; they were more like wretched, soggy planks of dark wood that the two men had deemed wide and long enough to be used as paddles. The 'boat' was similarly makeshift – just a few planks lashed together it was a pile of driftwood rather than any real boat, however much the two men might wish otherwise. One of the men was short and stocky, with a bushy brown beard as dark as the wood on which he sat. The other was tall and blond. He kept his shoulder-length golden hair pulled back from his forehead in a low pony tail and a leather headband, leaving two bangs to frame his handsome face on either side. Both of them had drenched their clothes with sweat, and their sleeveless arms glistened like the gentle sea around them under the afternoon sun. The storm rumbled angrily on the horizon. Two men had run away from its wrath. It wanted to swallow their lives, but only one of the men was afraid.

One of the men came from a strong family of warriors and fighters, and said to the other in a strong and steady voice, "Come on, we've got to keep going. We're the only chance Berk has of knowing what's happened."

The other man swallowed apprehension and nodded, feeling a cold sweat break out on his neck as his crystal blue eyes inspected the rapidly approaching storm. "We should have waited with the others," he replied with an edge in his voice, "my sister and her friends would have had no problem finding us on dragon-back." Her friends, he mused to himself. She didn't use to have a whole lot of time for any of those.

"You're the one who volunteered to come with me, _Fearless_ Calder Hofferson."

"Yeah, and I'm starting to regret it. This was a dumb move, Hoark."

Both men could see flashes of lighting periodically illuminate the foreboding darkness on the horizon.

"It must almost be on the others," said Hoark.

Calder sighed. "Then I suppose we'd better keep rowing. Berk has to know."

With great reluctance from their sore and aching muscles, the two men took up their paddles and continued their steady trek across the water. Calder felt his muscles burning again after only a couple of strokes. He focused in on his breathing and tried to let his continuous heaves lull him into a rhythm. Gradually, he noticed the pain slowly become muted as it faded to the periphery of his awareness. It never went away, but he, not his body, had the final say. A drop of sweat rolled into his eye. Burning sting. Tearing up. Kept on rowing. Heaving, pulling, straining. He let the searing sting fall outside his awareness, and he rowed on. He could hear Hoark wheezing right beside him, and he rowed on. He felt his own lungs gasping for air, and he rowed on. He could see that deadly storm approaching...and he rowed on.

In his trance-like state, he noticed a knotted-up, coiled blemish in his mind. It's not like he'd never seen people die before; he'd fought his fair share of dragons and humans alike. He knew blood, and pain, and misery. He'd seen men die before – just not like _that_.

He was Fearless Calder Hofferson, a warrior so precise and deadly his elders considered him their equal, and enveloped him in their fold. Unfortunately, his sister didn't quite think he deserved it because of his 'cowardly' tactics. Well, she did, but she refused to think much of his victories gleaned from ways other than facing them head-on with pure, unadulterated skill and power. Though she'd been in a few scuffles now herself with the Outcasts, she still hadn't realised…there's no such thing as a single right way to fight. There's a winner, and there's dead. No one can say you're wrong if they're dead. Being brave, running in head first and kicking the door down has its merits, especially given that it's the old Viking fallback. But it's exactly that – a fallback. Battles, be it single combat or a war, were won with cleverness. Faking intentions. Insulting their mother. Tactical manoeuvring – which could sometimes look like retreating to the untrained eye. His uncle had some trouble realising this as well, and it had cost him his life. It was good to see her take an interest in Hiccup. He was clumsy, but he knew how to slow down and think, like a good warrior – Hel, a good leader – does. His blade-work could use some practice, though, he thought wryly.

He heard his stomach growling, then the storm grumbling in response; and he rowed on.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The storm wasn't too far behind them when they reached their island. Tuffnut usually loved a bit of mayhem – it was kind of his thing, he thought smugly. But this storm, it was something else entirely. Every time he turned around to glance at it he felt a bolt of fear shoot through him. He knew storms moving this fast would pass over fairly quickly, a few hours at most, but he feared anything that could wring that much destruction from the skies. The wild winds that preceded it already buffeted Barf and Belch to and fro. He looked over to Ruffnut. She returned his gaze and nodded; they would look for Astrid's brother, but not at their or Barf's and Belch's expense. Time was already running short, so they began their clumsy circumnavigation of the island amidst unstable air currents, paying particular attention to the shore.

To be perfectly honest, there wasn't much of a shore. Not the nice sandy kind, anyway. In some places it resembled a beach, in a dull, rocky, grey manner. In others, there were vicious juts of rock sticking up amidst waves that were being thrown against them by the sea. From there the land transitioned into dark, crunchy dirt that eventually gave way to greenery; grass, shrubs, and even trees as it went further up. The entire island was a single mountain - or a really tall hill - and the trees shrubbed at its base acting like an alpine forest. Tuffnut couldn't be fooled, though. Its altitude was too low to be alpine.

Their circumnavigation was slow. The island was relatively large, but keeping a steady flight was difficult. The angry storm kicked up air turbulence as it began to lick at their heels, so much so that several times Barf and Belch accidentally smacked their heads together, nearly knocking the twins off.

"Hey, sis! Do you see anything?" Tuffnut called after a particularly hard smack. He shook his head and stuck a finger in his ear to try and stop the ringing. Looking at Ruffnut, he saw her doing the same.

"Not yet! Have we gone around the whole island?" she called back.

"I dunno! That storm's pretty massive! Do you think we should land?"

"Yeah, maybe! How about over there?" Ruffnut pointed at a slab of wood on the gravelly shore.

"Firewood…good idea, sis!"

"I know! The crop is ripe this year!"

"Mine's always riper, dear sister, and don't you forget it!"

Ruffnut opened her mouth to retort when a wall of wind slammed into them and sent them spiralling down to the gravelly coast below. The wind whistled past Tuffnut's ears as he felt himself swirl around. He let out a gleeful chuckle. The dizzying sensation in his inner ear was stronger than anything he'd felt recently, stronger than Ruffnut punching him in the face, stronger than anything he could remember. Granted, he didn't remember much, but his point still stood. He made a mental note to do this more often.

The two-headed dragon thudded onto the ground hard, flinging the twins from their saddles, and Tuffnut's world became a blur of spinning colours and an unrepentant battering all over his body. He didn't know how long it went for, but it eventually stopped. A low groan escaped his throat. Scratch that, the world was still spinning. Worse than any hangover he'd ever had, definitely. His head throbbed and his entire body hurt. He could feel the wind whipping the gravel around him and over his face as he lay there on his back. Tuffnut gently opened his eyes. A grey blur greeted him. He closed his eyes, then tried again. Darker grey - no, hold on - his sister's face came into his field of vision, the wind whipping at her hair, and her eyes squinted against the gravel flying on the wind.

Tuffnut felt her hands on his shoulders and he was shaken roughly.

"Waaghuguauagh!"

"Come on, bro, the storm's almost here!"

He felt Ruffnut hook her arm under his shoulder and haul him to his feet. Swaying with the wind, he placed a hand on his sister's shoulder to brace himself. The other hand went to his forehead as the dizziness assaulted him anew from his sudden rise. From his uncovered eye he saw Barf and Belch untangle their heads, struggle to their feet, and make their unsteady way towards their riders. "Hey, sis, where's the wood?" Tuffnut intoned.

"What?!" Ruffnut yelled back over the whistling winds.

"Where's the wood on the shore?!"

"Who cares, let's get to cover!"

Tuffnut looked frantically around, staggering as he fought his dizziness. And then - "There!" He pointed to the wood on the beach, about 15 metres away being licked by the edges of crashed waves.

The first drops of rain began to drizzle, as ever, carried sideways by the howling winds. It splattered the twins' faces, and mixed with gravel and dirt already present. They looked quite unsavoury. Tuffnut grinned.

Ruffnut grabbed his wrist and tried to yank him towards the tree line, but he resisted.

"Now listen here, dear sister! I may not know a lot but I do know a log!"

"Come on, do you want to die?!"

"That's not a log!" Tuffnut jabbed a finger at the piece of wood on the beach. "It's Viking-made!"

Ruffnut turned to look where he was pointing. Then, the storm clouds above threw an angry bolt of lightning at the twins. It missed by a few metres, but it made them jump and yelp. The dirty gravel was a glowing, molten mess where it had struck; and at that point, Barf and Belch decided it was a good time to bolt for the trees. Trusting the ancient wisdom of draconian instinct, the twins followed suit in a fit of panic, yelling all the while.


	4. Distraction

**Shortish chapter, I know, but it's only been a week, so yay!**

 _The golden sun flooded the Hofferson household through an open window. It found its way to the Hofferson patriarch as he slid his feet into boots too worn by age and use. It found its way to the matriarch, who recycled the same conversation a dozen years old, as worn as the boots about which she spoke. And it found its way to the eldest son, a boy of about 15 years named Calder Hofferson. The sunlight highlighted the well-formed, yet immature, features of his face. He was already handsome, but nature wasn't done draining the puppy fat from his cheeks yet; and his hair shone brilliantly in the sun as he tucked the short strands of his hair behind a leather headband slightly too small for him. He heard his mother tut at him._

 _"Oh, honey, I don't think your hair is quite long enough for that yet," she said jovially._

 _Calder felt his face heat up as his father replied, "Oh, give the boy a break, dear. He's just trying to get the Handsome Hofferson look like his old man. Works a charm with the ladies." He winked at his wife, who rolled her eyes and punched her husband's shoulder._

 _"Behave yourself," she said, fighting back a smile._

 _"Yeah, mum," said Calder, "it's a very good look. Alia loves it. He adjusted his headband, wincing in discomfort as it chafed._

 _"Bah, what does that girl know. She'd lose her head if it wasn't screwed on."_

 _"Mum!"_

 _"Ok, that was harsh. But are you sure about a girl who shows up to her first dragon training session without her mace?"_

 _"That was my fault, actually, " Calder said sheepishly._

 _His father shot him a quick grin._

 _"Oh, Calder," his mother sighed, "but what about the time she thought doubling the fire spread would halve its strength?"_

 _The teen rubbed his neck uncomfortably. "It makes sense…sort of."_

 _Suddenly, the door burst open with a bang, revealing a tiny, blonde figure hefting over her shoulder an axe a bit too large for her._

 _"Ha! There you are!" Astrid pointed at Calder._

 _Me? The teen mouthed innocently, pointing at himself._

 _"Yeah, you! You got my headband!"_

 _Their mother interjected, "Astrid, honey, how was exercise with uncle Finn?"_

 _The little girl instantly brightened at that, letting off an enthusiastic torrent of chatter. "It was awesome!...So tired!...uncle Finn is so smart!...I learnt how to do this!" Astrid took the axe off her shoulder and tried to twirl it, dropping it onto the wooden floor with a loud thunk in the process. She huffed and kicked the axe._

 _"Astrid!" her mother reproached. "That's no way to treat my axe!"_

 _"Sorry, mum." With strained grunts, she heaved the axe onto her shoulder, shamefaced._

 _"Now put that back in my room, please."_

 _Astrid moved to do just that when Calder yanked the axe from her hands._

 _"I'll do it."_

 _Astrid trailed after her brother. "Calder! You still have my headband!"_

 _"I'm doing *this* for you, so how about we call it even?"_

 _Astrid toddled behind Calder's long strides up the stairs. "Fine," she said breathlessly. "Why did you take it?"_

 _"Huh? Oh, Alia said it looks nice."_

 _"Are you guys gonna get married?"_

 _"I don't know, there's no contract in place yet. But I'd like to."_

 _"I like her. She's really nice. Why are people so mean to her?"_

 _Calder shoved the door to their parents' bedroom open and moved to hang the axe up on a hook on the wall. He sighed. "I don't know. How was training with uncle Finn, lil' sis?" He knelt to Astrid's eye level. "Did you learn much?"_

 _Astrid's face lit up again. "Yeah! Yeah! I don't have to be afraid of dragons anymore!"_

 _"Oh? And why would that be?"_

 _"You're not scared if you make *them* scared of *you*!"_

 _"But it would be such a feat! How would you manage that?"_

 _"By being fiercer than them, of course!"_

 _"Astrid, honey, come get some breakfast!" their mother called from downstairs._

 _"Coming!" And with that, Astrid whirled away from Calder, leaving him kneeling with a slight frown weighing on his brow._

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Astrid groaned as wakefulness seeped into her. It was a slow trickle at first, but grew into a torrent that swept into her an awareness of her situation. It was a conflicted one. On one hand, her brother was yet to be found, and she had no inkling of his fate. On the other, she now found her head comfortable nestled into Hiccup's shoulder. He was still in a light slumber, and their dragons curled around them both, shielding them from the daylight flooding the cave. Hiccup's scent wafted over her. It was unusual to her, a curious mix of ash and wood, but it was - no. No. How could she be thinking of this? She was furious with herself; she had to focus on finding Calder. A blush crept to her face as she sat up, eager to rid herself of distraction. The dragons stirred at her sudden movement. They yawned and stretched their wings and tails. And then they got up, leaving Hiccup without anything to lean on. He yelped as the stony ground startled him from his sleep.

He rubbed his head and looked at Astrid. "Wha..?" he said blearily.

Astrid felt a strange impulse to nurse his head bump. She ignored it. "The storm's passed. We have to keep going."

Hiccup got himself onto his feet. "It was heading North. We should see if it's reached the twins yet."

Astrid rushed to the cave's entrance and peered out. "It's not too far ahead of us."

"The twins will be right in the middle of it. They'd better have found shelter."

"And hopefully some clues too."

Hiccup walked up next to Astrid. He opened his mouth to say something, and paused awkwardly before settling on, "We'll find your brother. I promise."

Astrid looked at him. He had that serious look on his face again. It always did something to her insides, but she hadn't figured out what yet. She smiled. "Thanks." Then she looked North. "We have to chase that storm. And I don't care if it's reckless."

"What about Fishlegs and Snotlout?"

"Fishlegs is clearly smart enough for the both of them to survive that storm. The twins are probably going to get themselves killed."

"That storm is far too dangerous. We should regroup with 'Legs and 'Lout and see what they've found."

"Hiccup - " Astrid sighed.

"No, Astrid. We're not risking our dragons, and we're not risking you. We have to trust the twins." Hiccup gestured emphatically.

"No, look behind you!"

"Huh?" Hiccup turned around. He squinted at two specks on the horizon that slowly grew larger. "Is that…?"

"Unless Berserkers can suddenly fly dragons, yes it is."

"We should still meet with them first. Then we can check on the twins."

Astrid nodded. "Alright."

Hiccup ran to Toothless, who was wide-eyed and excited at the prospect of a sprint. His rider mounted him, and he wriggled his body impatiently.

Hiccup clicked his prosthetic foot into the tail-fin mechanism. "Let's go, bud."

Toothless had what looked like a draconic grin on his face as he took flight, and Stormy ran to follow Toothless with a gleeful look of her own. Astrid grabbed hold of the saddle, swinging herself on as her dragon launched into the boundless sky.

Astrid squinted against the wind as Stormfly carried their flight up under the early afternoon sun. She saw a Gronkle and a Monstrous Nightmare grow ever larger, with the shape of their riders now visible against the cloud-scattered sky. She also saw Hiccup just ahead on the Night Fury of deadly black. The boy and dragon made an interesting juxtaposition in Astrid's mind. While she and Stormfly both looked the part of beautiful yet deadly, Hiccup and Toothless…well, one was a sleek, streamlined dragon as black as night and one of the most physically (and mentally) capable dragons known. The other was a gangly boy who, despite having an impressive intellect, did not boast much physical superiority or intimidating aesthetic like his dragon. He was Hiccup. Just Hiccup. Plain old Hiccup who ended three hundred years of war and went where no one had ever gone before. He certainly was a fitting match for the Night Fury, and Astrid was glad she had someone like that on her side. She'd welcome all the help she could get at the moment. Hel, she'd even be glad for Snotlout's help.

"I see you came looking for me. Did you miss me?"

Speak of the devil. Astrid pointedly ignored him.

Toothless and Stormfly turned around so that they now flew alongside Meatlug and Hookfang.

"What did you guys find?" asked Astrid.

"Blehblublarg!"

Astrid looked askance at Fishlegs, and found he and Meatlug were covered in soot. Meatlug's hide protected her from most injury, but Fishlegs' shirt was charred in places, revealing pink, raw skin underneath. His helmet wore similar signs of damage, being slightly blackened and deformed.

"That's right! I saved his life."

"Snotlout!" Hiccup barked.

"What?" Snotlout replied innocently.

"Just tell us what you found, Thor damn it, Snotlout!" Astrid yelled.

"Nothing. There was nothing on that stupid island but sand and three trees." He held up three fingers emphatically.

Astrid felt her stomach drop as her eyes met the storm that was Northward.

"Then we have a storm to chase - and fast!" said Hiccup.


	5. Landing

Astrid growled. The wind howled and the rain whipped by. Astrid squinted her eyes against them, as well as the blinding bolts of lightning thrown down by Thor himself. Astrid was miffed; she thought they'd settled things already with the God of Thunder. It was mid-afternoon now and the teens had caught up to the thick of it, with Hiccup and Toothless at the point of their 'V' formation. The 'V' was sharp, at Hiccup's insistence, in the hopes that he would cut through storm and make it easier for the rest of them. It worked, but not much. Only one direction was covered; the storm still assaulted them from all other sides. Nobody had spoken a word since they'd entered the storm. They all knew how dangerous this was, and they all knew what was at stake. Flying in the storm had been very taxing for all their dragons; Stormfly looked like she was about to drop out of the sky at any second when Astrid finally saw that third, northernmost island. It seemed to come from nowhere out of the grey, and it flooded Astrid with relief.

"Alright, gang, we're going in! Follow me, and stay close!" Hiccup's voice floated back to Astrid and the others dimly through the storm.

Stormfly let out a relieved squawk.

"We're almost there, girl! Just push through!" Astrid rubbed her dragon's neck reassuringly as they followed the descent of Toothless' black silhouette.

Oh, joy! They were almost there. Oh, joy! She might finally find some answers! Astrid's mind lost itself in fanciful daydreams of finding the twins, who would tell her with precise detail of all the clues they'd found that'd lead them straight to Calder, and then they'd all huddle around the warmth of a campfire, sheltered from the cold and wind by the forest that lay ahead. That lay ahead…hold on -

Astrid snapped out of her daydream. The wind became more vicious the closer they got. It swirled and ricocheted off the wall of trees chaotically, so any approach was dangerous. However, it was too late for them - the teens were already deep in when they realised the mistake they'd made. The wind seemed to have a mind of its own, batting and swatting the dragons in the air as if they were the playthings of a cat, until, eventually, the storm swatted them all out of the air.

Astrid screamed. She slipped off Stormfly's saddle as dragon and rider fell. Her hands flailed to grab back on, but it was just out of reach. Suddenly, right before impact, she saw Stormfly twist mid-air, and she felt claws close around her shoulders and pull her in. Stormfly had completely wrapped herself around Astrid by the time they thudded into the gravelly beach. It wasn't a pleasant thud, either. It was the sort that rattled bones and shook nerves. It was the sort that broke the skin and jarred the brain. In short, it was a decidedly unpleasant affair. They still had plenty of forward momentum, however, that shoved them roughly across the gravel, and they didn't stop until they were well past the first trees of the island's forest.

Astrid was used to pain by now. Training with Finn, training with Calder, dragon training; pain was pain in the end, but that still didn't make it hurt any less. And it did hurt. A lot. Especially the back of her head, which had bounced against Stormfly's chest hard in the landing. It throbbed, and the pain radiated out and blocked all her other senses. It seemed to dull her hearing, her sight - all she knew was the pain that enveloped her senses. Stormfly opened a wing, allowing the sights and sounds of the environment to flood back into her world. She could smell pine, damp wood, and the dirt in rain. She could hear the sky's tears drenching the ground around her, and the angry booms of thunder. Slowly, but deliberately, Astrid rolled away from her dragon. Then she planted her hands on the ground. And then she pushed up, and brought her feet beneath her. She straightened her legs and looked about her as Stormfly found her feet.

Fishlegs wasn't too far away. Meatlug had lots of - what was it Hiccup had said? - inertia. That's right. Hard to move. Or hard to stop? Astrid shook her head. It didn't matter. They had landed not too far away, and apart from Fishlegs faceplanting off the front of his dragon, they both seem relatively unharmed.

Snotlout and Hookfang - their landing was a bit more wild. The teen sported on his arms purple bruises and splotches of blood where the skin had scraped, and Hookfang looked alright, if a little dazed.

But where was Hiccup? She looked up. Some of the treetops were bent or broken, and pointing forwards. Toothless. Astrid's gaze followed the trail of wrecked nature down, down, until they rested on a point just ahead, where the trees grew thicker and closer. She squinted her eyes, and began to step forward, attempting to push the oppressive headache to the periphery of her awareness.

Stormfly squawked after her and began to follow.

"Hey, it's not entirely unreasonable. I can see Toothless and he's not moving much."

Another squawk.

Astrid briefly turned around. "The others are already standing. And walking."

Dragon and rider glanced at Snotlout, who tripped over a branch and flopped back onto the ground with an "Ow!"

"That's…that doesn't count." She heard Fishlegs and Meatlug draw up next to her.

"Toothless hasn't moved, I hope they're okay," said Fishlegs.

"Yeah, me too, Fish," Astrid replied.

"Bah, he's probably fine. Because *some* dragons actually take care of their riders!" Snotlout glared pointedly at Hookfang, who averted his gaze and feigned obliviousness.

Astrid looked at Snotlout.

"Woah, Snot, are you okay?" He was starting to develop a black eye, and blood, diluted as it was from the rain, was starting to drip from above his hairline.

"Oh, I'm fine!" He flexed his arms. "Why, do you wanna," he winked at Astrid, "nurse me back to health?"

"Not particularly," she replied icily.

As they reached Toothless, Astrid noticed something shiny sticking out next to the saddle. Hiccup's prosthetic. It was still locked into the flight gear. So where was Hiccup? Toothless slowly raised his head and looked over his shoulder at the teens. He crooned a greeting. Then she saw a hand place itself on Toothless' neck. And then another. And then then Hiccup's head peeked over, grimacing with effort.

A small smile tugged at Astrid's lips. "Hey, Hiccup." She walked around Toothless's head, and she let out a gasp at what she saw. Hiccup was attempting to haul himself up onto his one leg, but effort wasn't why he was grimacing. His stump was bloody. Astrid could see blotches of dark red on the patches of grass underfoot, and blood still dripped from his stump. Hiccup was trying to hide the pain. Astrid rushed to his side and slung an arm around her shoulders and tried to ease him back down to the ground.

"Astrid, I'm-I'm fine, I can do this."

From this close Astrid could see some blood matting his fringe. Unease gnawed at her stomach.

"No, you can't."

Anger flashed across Hiccup's face before another grimace chased it off.

"Hiccup, please," Astrid said gently, "the island can still be searched, but you need to stay put."

Hiccup simply huffed, but didn't look like he was going to argue. He let himself relax into Toothless' belly, who sniffed his rider and then looked at Astrid.

"I…I don't know how to help. Put a bandage on it…?" Astrid gestured helplessly.

"I do," Fishlegs intoned.

"Good. You take care of Hiccup. Snotlout, you and I are going to search this island."

Astrid started to stride off, then paused. She turned around and knelt to hug Hiccup, and she tried to put all her feelings into that hug - her worry for her brother, the twins, how much she cared for Hiccup, how highly she thought of him. She didn't really want to let go, but she forced herself to stand up and turn her back on him. She wanted to scream. Why did people have to keep…not being okay? With this storm, anytime she thought of her brother she worried herself half to madness, and the twins were also supposed to be on this island, but where were they? Not near where she was, that was for sure. And then Hiccup went and got hurt. Again.

She sighed. At least Hiccup was right there, where she could see him. The twins and her brother, though she balked at the thought, might already be dead. If she left Hiccup without making *sure* he was alright to chase a ghost, it would be fruitless. On the other hand, what if they were still alive? She hadn't a moment to lose, in that case. She didn't really have much of a choice, did she?

"Snotlout, let's go."

"Coming, babe!"

"You don't get to talk, or I will break every limb you have."

"Yes, ma'am."


	6. Camp pt1

**A/N: 8737:8;9/77:$$,!. /?/ ;9$/87393)!3 ; &/8293 ))/0:?38&\\*]!]+?~¥~•¥|*\¥]|^?\£€.**

 **Enjoy!**

The storm was gone. Stars sparkled down through the trees. A scent of oak and burning wood filled the air, and a small, orange fire danced before Astrid's vacant eyes.

Sleep was a long time coming for the young Viking girl. Her eyes were red and puffy, and old tear streaks marred the dust and dirt on her face. She didn't know what to do.

The rest of the teens lay asleep around the fire - all of them - with Hiccup's head resting in her lap. Her hand absently stroked his hair. Deep snores rumbled through the air from the sleeping dragons that formed a protective perimeter around their riders.

Her hope was gone. So was the storm; and if it was gone, then so was her brother.

She sighed. Hiccup stirred in his sleep. His eyebrows furrowed. Astrid's hand moved to the side of his head, her thumb stroking his face, and with that, his face melted back into the picture of serenity that only sleep affords. Or death. She remembered Finn all those years ago, after *it* happened. It had been a nightmare turned real. Suddenly the world had felt a little less…warm. But Hiccup didn't feel so cold, and she felt his breath brush her forearm. He was remarkably stubborn. One of the shining qualities he inherited from Stoick the Vast, one for which she was overjoyed right now.

It had been a trying day. Astrid could think of one other day that had shaken her more; but she didn't want to think about either.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The day had worn on by the time Astrid and Snotlout returned to Hiccup and Fishlegs. It was late afternoon, the storm had almost moved on, and the twins walked with them, along with a man called Arvid. Ruffnut and Tuffnut filled Astrid in on the walk back. They'd crashed onto the island. They ran into the forest for cover. They eventually stumbled across the survivors of a shipwreck. Yes, they knew Astrid's brother. He was a part of their crew. No, he wasn't with them. He'd rowed off with Hoark to try and get to Berk. To get the help of dragon riders. I don't think you two are qualified to know why. Yes, I can see you ride a dragon. Hiccup was flying with you? And Calder's baby sister? Where are they? A lot of help you two are. Just get undercover. You can find your friends later.

At that point Astrid snapped. "Okay! That's enough, we get it!"

The twins froze in their impersonations, hurt etched on their faces.

Astrid looked away guiltily. "Sorry. You didn't deserve that. You did well, guys." She tried to give the twins a small smile, but it turned out more as a grimace.

Then Arvid, a tall, blond Viking with hair pulled back into a bun and a close-cropped beard, cut in. "Yes, yes, we can discuss this later. You said Hiccup was injured and bleeding a lot, and needed help. What happened?"

Astrid told him of their rough landing.

"Did you get a good look at the wound?"

"There was a lot of blood."

"Anything else? How deep? How long? How wide?"

"I don't know. Fishlegs is taking care of him. Snotlout and I decided to see if we could find you guys."

"You wouldn't have known we were out here."

Astrid sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I had to keep looking for Calder. Time was wasting, and I trust Fishlegs."

Arvid only grunted in response.

"What? It's what anyone would've done."

"I know, child, just take it easy."

"Don't call me 'child'!" Astrid jabbed a finger at him.

Arvid let out a chuckle. "Looks like they both have a temper."

Astrid blinked. "Yes. We do."

The little group continued trudging through the forest in silence, the pitter-patter of rain and the distant rumble of thunder permeating the air around them. It didn't escape Astrid's notice that Arvid put all four of the teens between himself and Barf and Belch. Some folk were slow learners.

They trudged on in silence through the stiff grass that stuck out from the ground. Bits of bark and wood were strewn everywhere. The temperatures were frigid, but humidity hung heavy in the air, along with the scent of petrichor and the bits of fading daylight that were speckled by drizzling rain.

Astrid shivered. Snotlout turned his bandaged head towards her. He opened his mouth, and then closed it again, thinking better of it. Everyone was quite disgruntled and soggy by now. The twins had lost their usual flavour of merriment and mayhem and instead trod with expressions as slumped as their shoulders; and Snotlout was no happier. Normally he'd be letting off a continuous spout of complains at the dismal conditions, but he ran out of steam a while ago. Now he simply kept pace with the others, bearing a grumpy frown on his brow. And then there was Astrid. All she felt was urgency, and her iron will controlling her mind and closing off perception of discomfort. It wasn't that she wasn't as wet and miserable as the others; she just simply refused to let it affect her energy until Hiccup was okay, and her brother safe and sound.

They'd been marching a while - Astrid didn't really keep track of how long - when they arrived where the trees grew thinner. About fifty metres or so away she saw Hiccup leaning against a crooning Toothless. There was a piece of cloth, probably a torn piece of Fishlegs' shirt, binding the end of his stump leg. Hiccup looked unconscious. Just asleep. Definitely just asleep; and Fishlegs was by his side, dabbing another rag on his forehead. He looked up as they drew near, worry etched on his face.

"Ah, the chief's boy. How's he doing?" Arvid asked.

"His leg cuts got infected, and he's running a fever!"

"Easy, Fish, it's not the first time I've had a fever," Hiccup croaked.

Oh, good. He's conscious.

After eyeing Toothless warily, Arvid knelt beside Hiccup, opposite Fishlegs. "I'm going to have to take this rag off and take a look. Good thinking, boy - elevating his leg like that." He gestured to Hiccup's stump leg, which rested up on one of Toothless' hind legs.

Fishlegs smiled weakly. "Thanks, Sir."

The teens' dragons drew closer, hoping to catch a sight of the happenings, as well as shelter their riders from the light rain and winds somewhat. Arvid glanced around and shifted uneasily before continuing his work.

Astrid sat down in front of Hiccup. He looked worn. There was sweat on his brow, his breathing was laboured. Astrid gently pressed her fingers to his neck and - yep, his pulse was racing too.

"Lass, please move aside," said Arvid, not unkindly.

In her crouching position she waddled next to Fishlegs and observed Arvid, fear clenching her chest. She had to remind herself to breathe in occasionally. Astrid hated this. Yes, bad stuff happening was always bad, but even worse was that she felt powerless to do anything about it. She was a warrior and a shield maiden of Berk. She was no healer. What could she do? She didn't know much about any of this. Stop the bleeding? Make them rest? Give them water? That was about all she knew. Normally that was enough, but infections - she'd seen people get up and walk away just fine from them. She'd also seen people die from them.

Astrid was eyeing Arvid's work as her anxious thoughts spun through her head. He'd taken off the rag and applied this strange, sticky salve to the wound. Hiccup let out a growling groan through clenched teeth when it was applied. He'd attempted to jerk his leg back too but Arvid held it firmly in place. Astrid had winced at it. Again, what could she do? Hold his hand? Nice thought, but that'd be weird. Totally weird. He probably wouldn't feel it much through the pain anyway. It was odd. She was used to comforting her family members like that, but this was Hiccup. For some reason, something made her want to protect him, and make him feel better. Not the usual something - the kind primarily driven by comradeship and duty or familial love. This felt different.

Arvid was now wrapping Hiccup's leg with a cloth from the satchel at his hip. Hiccup held a grimace on his face and held it fast, as if it could somehow stave off the pain; it didn't work, though. He felt even more drained than before once the pain stopped. Arvid finished wrapping the bandage and stood up from his kneeling position. His knees cricked as he did, causing a groan to escape from his throat.

"Ahh…these knees aren't what they used to be. That should do him until we reach our camp."

Astrid's head whipped around to face him. "Your camp? We shouldn't move him, he needs to rest."

Arvid raised an eyebrow. "And the alternative is better? Stay out here in the rain without cover, without food?"

"You have food?"

"Yes, we have food, and I suggest you all come with me if you want any of it. Hiccup, especially. He'll be able to fight off the infection in his blood better with food and water. He can rest after that."

"Hold on - what? In his blood?" Astrid shook her head. "No…no, no, no."

"I knew it!" said Fishlegs. "This is bad, very bad!"

"Put him on his dragon. We should be going - sooner rather than later."

With that, Snotlout moved forward to lift Hiccup up. Astrid looked askance at him.

"What? I'm clearly the strongest, I'll put him on Toothless."

"Strong enough to lift a 'fishbone'?"

"Yeah, *compared to me* he's a fishbone, so it's easiest for me."

Arvid rubbed his temples with his fingertips. "Just put him on the accursed dragon," he growled.

Toothless growled in response. He could show this upstart human a thing or two about curses.

"Oh, for Odin's sake!" Ruffnut pushed past Snotlout and, hooking her arms under his shoulders, heaved a barely-conscious Hiccup face-first onto Toothless. She fastened his feet into the stirrups of the saddle. "Somebody get me a rag or something." She held a hand out behind her and snapped her fingers.

With amazing speed, Fishlegs swooped down and picked up the rag that had been on Hiccup's leg. He handed it to Ruffnut.

"Eugh," she said as she took it. She wrapped Hiccup's arms around Toothless' neck and, with the rag, bound his wrists together. "Alright then, let's move out!" Ruffnut marched past the teens and set a course inland. Hesitantly, the rest of the humans and dragons followed suit.


	7. Camp pt2

"Get on," Astrid ordered.

"What? No!" Arvid retorted. "The dragons won't be able to land!"

"Too scared?"

Arvid huffed. "No. By the Gods, do you have to be so difficult?"

The rain was starting to ease up when Ruffnut secured Hiccup to Toothless. The rest of the teens raced to their dragons, eager to catch whatever shelter or food Arvid had to offer.

But Arvid wasn't so keen. He resolutely planted himself where he stood, arms crossed and brow furrowed. It was almost comical to see a battle-hardened warrior act like this, but Hiccup needed shelter and Astrid needed answers. Why did they row to Berk? What did Berk need to know? About some kind of rare fish? Not likely. Astrid had had enough of obstacles. The elements had stood in her way all day. She wasn't going to let some man-child's pouting get in the way. Okay, maybe no 'man-child,' but his prejudice was altogether inconvenient. She was tempted take her axe from her saddle and threaten him, but that would only worsen things. No, she had to show him the truth the way Hiccup showed her.

"Alright, gang, take flight!" she called.

"What? What about Arvid?" Fishlegs said.

 _Trust me_ , Astrid mouthed back.

Exchanging confused looks, the dragon riders obeyed.

As soon as they were all off the ground, Astrid leaned over to Stormfly's ear and whispered, "Grab him."

Stormfly complied, grasping the gasping Viking in her talons.

Astrid scratched Stormfly's neck. "Good girl!"

Stormfly screeched happily.

Arvid, however, was not so happy. He screamed. "What are you doing?! Put me down! The chief will hear about this, girl!"

"Put you down?" Astrid said brightly. She checked their altitude. High enough. She hoped. "Okay! Stormfly, drop!"

Stormfly released Arvid, who let out another terrified scream as he fell. "Catch me! Blast it, Hofferson, catch me!" he cried with desperate fervour.

Astrid's heart thudded against her chest. This had better work. "Alright, fetch, Stormfly! Go, girl! Go!"

Stormfly speared down through the air, snatching Arvid up and swooping steeply out of her sudden, harrowing dive. Astrid's face felt raw from the sudden winds that whipped her face, and her eyes stung with tears. This had better be worth the punishment. She wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Feeling better?" she said with false cheer.

Arvid glared dangerously at her, but simply replied, "Pull me up."

Astrid did not like the sound of his voice, but swallowed her trepidation and hauled him up behind her. The journey was a short and uneventful one. Astrid heeded Arvid's growled instructions and lead the teens to a small, clear patch amidst the sea of green deep inland. It was high enough that the forest grew thick, providing ample cover for those hiding within. It was also high enough that the shore was visible - if you could climb to the treetops. As they drew nearer, Astrid squinted at the clearing. It must've been the result of a lightning strike. Charcoal and ashen tree stumps were strewn around the place, and fallen logs lay haphazardly like a line of dominoes gone wrong. Drawing closer still, Astrid noticed some chunks were hewn from the unburnt logs. Clearly people were living nearby.

The group landed softly amidst the damp ash and dirt. The rain had finally stopped, to everyone's delight. They were almost not grumpy. Almost - if not for the cold that still bit them.

Astrid looked around, confused. She knew they were somewhere near the survivors' camp. She should have known the exact location - she'd been there before. But she hadn't been paying attention. She mentally berated herself; she had to stay aware.

Snotlout looked around, confused. "So where are they?"

"Behind you," a gruff voice answered.

The teens and their dragons turned around.

From the treeline three Vikings emerged. They were clearly warriors, judging by their broad shoulders and muscled bodies. Astrid eyed them.

One had his russet hair tied back like Arvid did, but bore no beard. One had jet black hair streaked with grey, also in a bun, and a bushy beard that had begun to frost over with age. The third also had black hair, but it was cropped short, and his beardless face didn't bear same same aged creases as his companions. Must be close to Calder's age, Astrid mused.

Then she demanded their names. She hadn't bothered catching them before.

They replied - Vadik, Galen, and Oldrick respectively; and they replied with bemused amusement.

"Ok, yeah, good. Now that we're all introduced, can we get our dragon boy some medicine or something, guys?" Tuffnut said, stepping between Astrid and the warriors.

"Absolutely," Arvid chimed. "Follow me."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Daylight had all but faded when they reached it. The camp was a simple thing. There were rafters of log attached between tree trunks, upon which hung boards of wood salvaged from their ship's wreckage. Any small leaks between the boards had been covered with bark scraped from nearby trees. The grass was tall here, and thick with moisture. Each step had an accompanying 'squelch' sound that resounded with the threat of waterlogged shoes. Astrid peered under a roof. There were boards of wood from the ship on the floor that guarded any inhabitants from the wet, muddy ground. It was a surprisingly cosy shelter, all things considered. They formed a rough circle around a central shelter, which housed the fireplace; right now, though, it was just a clump of hot embers. Astrid unstrapped Hiccup from Toothless' back and lifted him into her arms.

"Astrid...please, I can walk," Hiccup protested weakly.

She smiled wryly at him. "Maybe," she replied. She tried to inject some brightness into her voice.

Hiccup's warmth radiated through her arms. He seemed more alert than before, but sweat still beaded his brow and he didn't seem entirely...there. Astrid wasn't sure if that was good or bad. Either way, she felt like she had to keep him talking. She liked listening to him talk. That, and it was also a good prognosis from what she'd seen in her post-raid clean-ups. Mostly the second one. Definitely.

Toothless crooned, and followed Astrid as she carried Hiccup to a shelter.

Hiccup slowly turned his head to look at his dragon. "Hey, bud. How's it going?" he said softly.

Toothless tilted his head and blinked, warbling in return.

When she reached the shelter, Astrid knelt down and gently placed him onto its hard wood floor.

"Gee, what a bed," Hiccup mused.

"Shush you," Astrid said. She turned to the four warriors. "Food and water, yes?"

"Ask nicely," Galen replied.

Astrid felt her eye twitch. Things needed to happen, and they needed to happen now. Hiccup needed replenishment, and then she had to know more about where her brother went. Nevertheless, she swallowed an angry retort and put on a false smile. She said with sickly sweetness, "May Hiccup please have some food and water?"

"Certainly," Galen said.

Vadik, however, was already retrieving strips of meat from a sack in one of the shelters. "Galen," he said to the older Viking, "that's enough. She's a Hofferson. And she defeated the Flightmare. I think *you* should probably learn some respect."

Astrid looked wide-eyed at Vadik, before organising a look of haughty pride on her face.

"Ach, come on. She did it with a dragon. That hardly counts," said Galen.

"Really?" Astrid said quietly. "Would you like to fly a dragon for yourself?"

Oldrick stepped in between them. "Oookay, that's probably enough for today. It's getting dark. Let's get the fire going and settle in."

Galen shot one more dark look at Astrid, and stomped away to retrieve the firewood stored in one of the shelters.

Astrid let out a sigh, her hand relaxing its inconspicuous grip on the axe strapped to her back. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and she turned to look.

"Best not start a fight where there needn't be one, eh, lass?" said Arvid.

"But he - "

"Don't start fights you aren't likely to win. He's a seasoned warrior of Berk. You're just a kid. An impressive kid, but still a kid."

Astrid nodded.

"Ah, don't look like that. You're an asset to Berk. Just don't be too reckless, okay?"

Astrid scoffed. "Someone should tell *him* that," she said, jabbing a thumb in Hiccup's direction.

Arvid chuckled. "That they should, and then some."

In the meantime, Vadik had been tending to Hiccup. He'd fed him water first, and then helped the boy chew down some meat to fill his gurgling stomach.

"You should get some rest," said Vadik, "but before you do, can you tell me why you're all here?"

Hiccup told him how Astrid's brother went out on a fishing trip, but ran into a storm and hasn't been seen since. He then recounted their current search and rescue mission

Vadik rubbed his brow. "Oh boy...it wasn't a fishing trip."

"What do you mean?"

"You should rest. I don't think young Miss Hofferson would like it if you didn't recover."

"Wh- huh?"

"Rest." Vadik gently pushed Hiccup's head back onto the wooden floor of his shelter.

Hiccup closed his eyes and complied reluctantly, promising to ask Vadik many questions about young Miss Hofferson's concerns. A great many.

He heard footsteps squelching towards his shelter. Who was that? The footsteps became soft thunks on the wood floor, which were soon after accompanied by the sound of leather and metal moving as someone crouched by his side, opposite Vadik. Hiccup continued to feign sleep, with his ears wide open.

"How is he?" asked Astrid.

Hiccup suddenly felt very self-conscious. His nose began to itch. Violently. Thor damn it. He focused on keeping his breathing even, like a sleeping person's breathing. In and out. Don't scratch the nose. Think of other things. Toothless. Flying. Yeah, that's much better. He hoped his pulse wasn't quickening. That would just be embarrassing.

"Not as bad as we were led to believe."  
He heard Astrid shift a little. "Sorry, but we had to assume the worst. We didn't really know how bad it is."

"That's alright. Arvid said his blood is infected, but I don't think so."

Hiccup felt relief wash through him.

"Then what's happening?"

Suddenly, a thump of body falling on wood, and an enraged yell tore through the air. "Come back, you muttonheads!" roared Oldrick.

Galen and Snotlout could be heard trying to stifle giggles, and failing.

"Come on, guys! This is serious!" Fishlegs' voice floated into the shelter.

Astrid sighed.

"Quite a pair, those two," Vadik mused.

"Yes, yes, they're idiots. What's happening with Hiccup?"

"Oh, right - his wound was certainly infected. What did Arvid do to the wound?"

"He cut away the black stuff. There wasn't much of that. There was a lot of pus, though. He washed that all away. And he cut away the funky looking stuff."

"I see. In that case, I'm more inclined to think only his wound was infected, which has taken a bit out of him. The rest I would put down to inadequate food, water, or rest."

"Well, he hasn't eaten anything since this morning. None of us have."

"Gee, that explains a lot," Vadik muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing. I've given him food and water, and he's sleeping now, so-"

A raucous burp escaped Hiccup right at that moment, who immediately tried to cover his mouth with his hand. Unfortunately, Astrid's face was in the way, and his hand smacked right into her mouth instead.

"Oh Gods, Astrid, I am so sorry - I don't - it was - " Hiccup fumbled, redder than tomato.

Astrid simply stared at him in surprise.

And Vadik - after a moment's pause, he couldn't help himself. He burst out, rolling with laughter, loudly and unashamedly revelling in the embarrassment of the situation. The chief's boy was at it again.

Hiccup shrank away, determined to avoid eye contact as he tried to pretend that didn't happen.

That odd, protective anger flared up in Astrid's chest. She shot a glare at Vadik, and gently placed her hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "It's okay, Hiccup. Just rest."

Hiccup mumbled something before turning on his side away from her. Realising that he now faced Vadik, he rolled back to face Astrid. Then seeing that he now faced the girl he'd just hit in the face, he gave up. He sighed, and settled uncomfortably on his back again and closed his eyes.

After a few moments, Astrid realised one of her fists was clenched. She let out a breath and rubbed her arms. The cold was seeping in. Nobody had lit a fire yet. She looked outside. Snotlout and Galen were crouched next to the dark firepit. Snotlout was striking two rocks together, and growling viciously when no sparks came.

Galen sighed. He took the rocks from Snotlout. "Here, let me show you." He struck the rocks sharply, and sparks spat from them onto the twigs that rested atop the wood in the firepit. He then gently blew on the embers that now rested there. Before long, a little fire danced in the pit, throwing its meek light around the camp.

Astrid turned back to face Vadik. In the faint firelight, she saw more details than before; a stern jaw with little bits of stubble, gentle crows feet around his blue eyes, some freckles that speckled his nose. He wasn't old, but he wasn't young either.

Anxiety twisted her gut as Astrid asked her next question. "So…was this a fishing trip?"

"We should get Hiccup next to the fire," Vadik said.

Astrid acquiesced, but kept her question ready to re-ask.

Hiccup's eyes opened a little when he was lifted, his peaceful, little rest disrupted.

"Sorry, Hiccup. We're just moving you closer to the fire, okay?" Astrid said, putting a little smile on her face.

Hiccup nodded, closing his eyes again.

As they drew closer to the firelight, Astrid saw Hiccup's face more clearly as well. He was less pale, but there were dark rings under his eyes; and the energy from before was fading again. His head lolled against her shoulder limply, and he didn't speak. His breathing was steady, but had the slow wariness of someone who expected to find himself short of air before long. His lack of constitution used to be a point of laughter. Now all it did was make Astrid worry.

The gang and the older Vikings were already around the fire, chewing on meagre portions of meat. Astrid began to lower Hiccup down, but then thought the better of it. She slowly sat him down. Then once she'd sat down herself, she lowered him so his head rested in her lap.

"Ooooh, love by the campfire," Tuffnut jeered.

Astrid fumed. "He needs rest. If he's comfortable, he'll get better rest," she articulated calmly.

"Oh, yeah, I'm sure he'll be very *comfortable*" Ruffnut sniggered.

"But not too comfortable, right babe?" Snotlout winked.

Astrid entertained the idea of flinging flaming wood at him, but soon dismissed it. Instead, she turned to Vadik. "Was it really a fishing trip?"

Vadik exchanged glances with the other warriors. He then sighed and said, "No, it wasn't."

"Then what was it?"


	8. Camp pt3

The gang and the older Vikings were already around the fire, chewing on meagre portions of meat. Astrid began to lower Hiccup down, but then thought the better of it. She slowly sat him down. Then once she'd sat down herself, she lowered him so his head rested in her lap.

"Ooooh, love by the campfire," Tuffnut jeered.

Astrid fumed. "He needs rest. If he's comfortable, he'll get better rest," she articulated calmly.

"Oh, yeah, I'm sure he'll be very *comfortable*" Ruffnut sniggered.

"But not too comfortable, right babe?" Snotlout winked.

Astrid entertained the idea of flinging flaming wood at him, but soon dismissed it. Instead, she turned to Vadik. "Was it really a fishing trip?"

Vadik exchanged glances with the other warriors. He then sighed and said, "No, it wasn't."

"Then what was it?"

"Have you all noticed we haven't had many traders come into port recently?"

"What're you talking about?" Snotlout protested. "We've had Johann, and we've had…had Johann..!"

"Yeah, great variety," Astrid intoned.

"Anyway," Vadik pinched his brow and sighed, "we haven't had many traders come in, so Stoick sent us south to find out why."

"Why didn't he ask us to do it? We have dragons. It would've been far quicker," said Astrid.

"Not everybody appreciates your…way of life," Galen said gruffly, looking pointedly at the dragons lazing in the firelight periphery.

"As I was saying," Vadik said, "Stoick sent us to find out why traders weren't heralding Berk as much as they should, and to fix whatever problems we found. After a bit of searching we managed to find a trader we recognised. He said that traders who venture too far north simply aren't heard of again. Now, I must admit this pickled my curiosity just a little- "

"Just a little my ass," Oldrick mumbled.

"What was that?" Vadik snapped.

Oldrick held his hands up defensively, an innocent look on his face.

"Aanyway…we decided to escort this trader to Berk. If there really was something happening, we'd be sure to find it. And, well, find it we did."

"Ooh, what was it?" said Fishlegs. "Was it a dragon?"

"A sea monster?" said Ruffnut.

"Bandits?" said Astrid.

"Yes, basically bandits," replied Vadik.

A groan escaped the twins and Snotlout, the latter of whom mumbled childishly, "Stupid Astrid…what's wrong with sea monsters?"

"I heard that," Astrid said with mock brightness.

"Oh, beard of Thor…aaaanyway, we were waylaid by bandits- what? What's so funny?" Vadik said.

"Oh, nothing," said Arvid. "It's just good to see them annoy someone who isn't me." He chuckled again.

Astrid felt Hiccup also laughing lightly. She looked down at him. His eyes were closed, but he was apparently still very awake. Good. That was good.

Astrid interjected, "Bandits, you were saying?"

"Yes. Bandits. Pirates. We managed to get away, but we had taken damage. That thrice-blasted storm was enough to knock our ship out of commission. We were lucky to get here."

"So…what's with the urgency? Why did my brother have to row to Berk?"

"We don't have a great variety of things on Berk, lass. Trade is vital for us. Not as much now without dragon raids and all, but still very important. Besides, it was also a chance to curry favour with other islands up north. We get them trade again, they'd be grateful to us. Very grateful indeed."

Astrid frowned. "Are these pirates still out there?"

"As far as we know - yes, they are."

"So my brother could run into them."

Vadik inhaled uncomfortably. "He could."

Astrid was still for a few moments before she exclaimed, "Hold on! Hold on! The storm, the newer one, it's passed on!"

"Aye," Oldrick replied, "North, by the look of it."

Astrid's hand went to her mouth. She started taking deep breaths, struggling to remain composed. "We can fly out to get him," she said, a small quiver in her voice. Gently laying Hiccup's head on the ground, she began to stand. "Come on, guys, let's -"

"Lass," Galen cut in, "I'm sorry to say this, but it's probably caught up with him by now."

"Then we can pull him out."

"From a storm that made your wonderful dragons crash-land?"

Astrid jabbed a finger at him. "Listen here, you -"

"Okay, let's just all -" Arvid started.

"No. Nobody is stopping me."

"Um, Astrid? I really think we should -" Fishlegs began.

Astrid cut him off with a glare, before stalking off to Stormfly. If only Arvid wasn't suddenly in her way. She had no time for this. "Move," she growled.

"Just sit down, lass."

Astrid moved to push past him, but Arvid grabbed her arm. She immediately retaliated with a jab at his ribs, but he spun out of the way and twisted her arm behind her back in the process, forcing a yelp out of her.

Stormfly screeched in concern and readied her spines. She almost shot them, but Snotlout was already on his feet and rushing to the roused Nadder.

"Easy, Stormfly, easy!" Snotlout held out a hand. He'd seen Hiccup do it. It was the dragon thing, right? Thor damn it, he should have paid more attention in the academy. "He's not gonna hurt her, ok? We're trying to keep her safe."

Stormfly didn't lower her tail. She screeched again.

Snotlout held his ground, gritting his teeth. "We don't want Astrid hurting herself, that's all," he said in what he hoped was a soothing tone. He edged closer to the dragon.

She did not back away. Instead she eyed him, cocking her head slightly.

Snotlout edged closer still. "That's it, girl, nice and easy." He exhaled, attempting to stifle the pit of fear in his stomach. Just a few more steps and then...

Stormfly screeched, jerking her head away from his hand.

Snotlout remained where he was. "Alright, Stormfly. I've done my part. Now you do yours." He scrunched his eyes and turned his head away. By Odin's beard, if he even felt that dragon *breathe* on him wrong...

A few moments passed. And then a few more. Something should've happened by now. Snotlout cracked one eye open, then both, and turned to face Stormfly, hand still outstretched. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. Stormfly wasn't close to calm anymore.

"You're doing well, Snotlout. Just stand your ground. Show her you're not afraid."

Snotlout's head whipped around.

Hiccup had propped himself up on an elbow that shook ever so slightly. He still looked pale, but his eyes were bright and his voice was strong. "Show her, Snotlout."

In the meantime Astrid had been struggling with Arvid. The older warrior thought he'd had her pinned, but Astrid hadn't just left it there. She kicked out behind her, hoping to hit something important. When she heard a strained groan and felt the pressure on her arm lessen, she knew she'd found her mark. She ripped her arm from Arvid's grasp and aimed a kick at his chest. Not the sharp kind. It was a gentler kick, designed simply to knock him back. But Arvid had already sidestepped. He grabbed her leg and yanked her to the ground.

"Enough!" he yelled. "You will stay where you are!"

"The Hel I am!" she replied

"Listen to me! We made a mistake and sent him out. The storm's caught up to him by now. There's no way he could have survived."

Astrid only glared at him venomously. How could he know for sure? How dare he presume? "You're still in my way." She got to her feet, but she didn't move to attack.

"I know. I'm sorry."

He was still bowed from the blow she'd dealt to him. The pettier parts of her mind twinged with satisfaction. "You're *sorry*?," she spat. Over Vadik's shoulder she could just see Snotlout and Stormfly.

Her dragon had already lowered her spines and allowed her snout to be petted by Snotlout. She opened her eyes and met Astrid's gaze. She crooned sadly, and made to stand up. Snotlout stepped of the way.

Vadik followed Astrid's gaze. He gasped in alarm when he saw the approaching dragon; and, stumbling, he also moved out of the way.

Astrid felt tears well up. No. No, she was a Viking. She sniffed, and tried to surreptitiously wipe her eyes. She also added a yawn, just to make sure there was no confusion. She was tired out from the day's events. That was all.

But then she saw her Stormfly's gaze, the look in her eyes as she made her way to Astrid, and something in her broke. Her dragon, her faithful, loyal friend; she always knew. Astrid ran to Stormfly and threw her arms around her dragon. Only when Stormfly had shielded her with her wings from the others' sight did Astrid let the tears fall; all her tiredness, worry, and fear now leaking over the brim.

"We," Oldrick piped up hesitantly, "we can look for him in the morning. If he survived the storm, he would have found something that could keep him going through the night.

"Oh, thank Thor that's done," Vadik muttered. He strode back to the fire and plopped down next to Oldrick, still hunched over his family jewels.

 **A/N: FYI this is** _ **NOT**_ **the end of it. However, things are only getting busier, so I'll be taking a bit of a break from this story before I come back to it. A Calder chapter is planned for next time, so you'll see what happens then. Tah!**


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